A Call To Holiness
A Series through 1 Corinthians
Part 10 – Who’s Your Daddy? (4:14-21)
I. Introduction
The TV show 60 Minutes ran a segment that tells us something important about parents and role models.
The park rangers at a South African wildlife preserve were concerned about the slaughter of 39 rare white rhinos in their park. It turned out that the rhinos were killed not by poachers but rather by juvenile delinquents—teen elephants.
The story began a decade ago when the park could no longer sustain the increasing population of elephants. They decided to kill many of the adult elephants whose young were old enough to survive without them. And so, the young elephants grew up without parents.
As time went on, many of these young elephants roamed together in gangs and began to do things elephants don’t normally do. They threw sticks and water at rhinos and acted like neighborhood bullies. Without dominant males, the young bulls became sexually active, producing excessive testosterone and exhibiting aggressive behavior. A few young males grew especially violent, knocking down rhinos and stepping or kneeling on them, crushing the life out of them. Mafuto, the gang leader, eventually had to be killed.
The park rangers theorized that these young teen-aged elephants were acting badly because they lacked role models. The solution was to bring in a large male to lead them and to counteract their bully behaviors. Soon the new male established dominance and put the young bulls in their places. The killing stopped. The young males were mentored—and saved.
The same issue exists in the church. We have too many young people running around without mentors. Parents the responsibility falls primarily on you, but it is not solely on you. We are all responsible to be sure that the next generation grows up with the right amount of respect and reverence for God and His laws.
1 Corinthians 4:14-21 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. (15) For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (16) I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (17) That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (18) Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. (19) But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. (20) For the
Context. POP QUIZ TIME:
Paul is careful to note that the church in
What is the main issue that Paul has been addressing, thus far? Division.
And what specifically were the Corinthians divided over? Teachers.
What is the foolishness of God? The gospel (death, burial, resurrection).
To what did Paul attribute their division? Immaturity.
What are Paul and Apollos? Servants and stewards.
Who is Paul concerned about being judged by? God.
Were the Corinthians putting more value on their gifts or the Giver? Gifts.
II. Have I told you lately that I love you? (4:14-17)
1 Corinthians 4:14-17 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. (15) For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (16) I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (17) That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
Paul had just finished a very harsh rebuke of his beloved Corinthians. He wanted to make sure they understood the heart with which he was rebuking them. His purpose was not to make them ashamed, at least not here. He is not above shaming them, as we will see in 6:5 and 15:34, but here he is writing to admonish them to be more like Christ (vs. 17). Notice, again, Paul’s affection for the Corinthians as he addresses them. He calls them “my beloved children.” It is obvious that he cares very deeply about this church and the people in it.
This illustrates some things for us. First, we see that it is appropriate and important for a pastor or a spiritual father to have a deep love for his congregation or spiritual children. Second, we can learn that deep love sometimes calls for harsh rebuke. It is precisely because of that deep love that Paul feels the need to rebuke his children. As a pastor I get a small taste of what it’s like to have children who wander away from God. Some of you parents out there know first hand what that is like. It’s difficult and often times a harsh rebuke is exactly what is needed. Third, it is very important to notice that Paul’s rebukes are grounded in God’s law. A rebuke should never be based on personal preference.
Paul went on to say that they had countless guides in Christ be he considered himself their father. This verse has been misunderstood by many denominations and individuals throughout time. This is not a verse to support members of the clergy being called father. We have seen that Paul is obviously against the idea of ministers being put in places of superiority to other Christians. He is also not making little of the “guides in Christ.” Guides in Christ are a very good thing! So let us take a minute and decipher the difference between the two.
A spiritual father is one who has led you to Christ. It can also be the person who is responsible for your early growth (i.e. if you got saved at a rally or something). This is the person whose life you saw and desired to follow after them. For many of you, Pastor Glen was your spiritual father. He is the one who either led you to Christ or was responsible for your spiritual growth. For some of you I may be that person. It doesn’t have to be a pastor. For some it is their parent or an older person in the church. Paul uses father because he is a male, but if that person in your life is a female, the same principle applies.
A spiritual guide is one who has picked up where the spiritual father left off. Either because of moving, or whatever the circumstances may be, the spiritual father is no longer able to carry out their duties. So a guide in Christ comes along and picks up the mantle. Paul was unable to carry on the duties of a spiritual father because he was called by God to travel around and do the work of an evangelist. However, they have had many guides in Christ. The use of the term countless can also lead us to understand that they are each called to be guides in Christ to one another.
So Paul saw the need to appeal to them with a fatherly affection to stop being divided. His appeal is not one of authoritative demands, but of affectionate appeal. This approach reminds me of Proverbs 15:1 Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that his rebuke is done with love and gentleness.
This is Paul’s first call for the Corinthians to follow him. Notice that it comes right after the statement that he was their father in Christ through the gospel. So what is it that he was asking them to imitate? He was asking the Corinthians to imitate him in the gospel. What, does that imitation look like? The context points back to the passage that we discussed last week—the contrast that Paul made between the apostles and the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 4:10-13 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. (11) To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, (12) and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; (13) when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
This probably seems weird to most of us. We live in a society where this stuff doesn’t occur as often as it used to. This is especially uncommon amongst Christians. We don’t often see Christians being tortured, persecuted, slandered whatever. But Paul says that in his time specifically, that is exactly what living a godly life looks like. The whole letter of 2 Corinthians is written to contrast the suffering of the apostle with the profitability of the false teachers. However, we certainly experience a little bit of disrepute. Our coworkers, friends, relatives and acquaintances think we’re a little strange sometimes!
Paul’s reason for calling them to follow him goes along with his question last week. “For who sees anything different in you?” The Corinthians were following wisdom and eloquence. Paul said, I’m your spiritual father and it is a natural reaction for children to imitate their father. Therefore, imitate me.
Then Paul said that he has sent Timothy to them. If Paul was the Corinthians spiritual father, then Timothy would be their guide in Christ. This indicates that Timothy may very well have delivered the letter to the Corinthians. Remember that in the time frame that this letter was written you didn’t put a stamp on the envelope and let Guy deliver it to your location. It was written and given to a trusted messenger who would walk and/or sail to the city that the letter was to be delivered to.
Can you imagine the pressure that Timothy would have been under sitting there listening to this letter being read and the responsibility that comes along with Paul writing that Timothy purpose for being in
III. Too much talk and not enough action (4:18-21)
1 Corinthians 4:18-21 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. (19) But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. (20) For the
The statement that is made by this passage serves two purposes. First and foremost it caps off the issue of divisions. This is the end of his closing argument that started in Chapter 3. The arrogance that the Corinthians were displaying was of the sort that would not be taking place if Paul were there, and Paul doubted it would be happening if they actually thought he was coming back. The word arrogant is following the same thought process of the term “puffed up” used in verse 6. Paul said the Corinthians were puffed up in favor of one teacher over another. Now, he says that they are arrogant (puffed up) that Paul wasn’t going to come to them.
Paul stated that he was going to come to them and then he qualified it with “if the Lord wills.” We should not view this as a copout statement. Paul had experienced the Lord changing his plans many times. He longed to go to
Something interesting that we can glean from this idea is that it is important to make plans. Paul planned, even longed, to go to
We notice that Paul was a bit of a spark plug! He said that he was going to come and find out not about the talk of the people, but of their power. It seems that Paul was tired of their talk and wanted to see their actions! He said that God’s kingdom does not exist in talk, but in power. Does that sound familiar? What is this power? It is the message of the gospel, namely Christ (1:24). The dynamis of God! There is power.
The problem with the modern church and with modern Christians (and the problem seems to have existed in Paul’s day as well) is that a lot of Christians are all talk and no action. It is as if we’re scared to act out on what we really believe. Secular philosophies have impaired our gospel vision! We want to do what is safe, secure and smart. But sometimes God calls us to do things that are risky and dumb by worldly standards. But we forget the power of God. When He calls us to do something He will supply us with the grace to get through it.
We are indwelt with the very power of God and yet we do things that are so weak and small! William Carey said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” He lived his life by that motto and it worked well for him. He has been called the father of modern missions. The
Paul Dawson tells the following story:
“While visiting Grand Coulee Dam, my family and I were surprised to see that the visitor’s center was dark. It was a sunny day, so we though the center might have tinted windows, but as we got closer we realized there were no lights on. We went in and saw that none of the displays were working. Suddenly it became clear: there was no power to the center. Due to a technical difficulty of some kind the visitors’ center that sat only hundreds of feet from a hydroelectric dam had no power.
“How could something be so close to the power source, yet not be ‘plugged in?’”
The same question could be asked of many Christians. How can we be so close to the power source (the Holy Spirit is in us!) and yet not be plugged in? Why are we still operating by worldly philosophies when we have been given the power of God? Are we too much talk and not enough action?
Paul’s final question to them in this section is basically, how do you want me to come? Should I come with a rod or should I come with love? His desire is obviously to come with love, but sometimes a rod is the most loving way to address situations. Remember, that rod must be used in conjunction with God’s law, not personal preference.
The final thing that this section accomplishes is that it sets up the next section. The issue of divisions is very serious. But bringing a rod may be viewed as a little harsh as a response. But in Chapter 5 Paul will address an issue that needs a rod. The issue of incest. As we forge ahead in the weeks to come we will need to put on our seatbelts and stop wearing our feelings on our shoulders. Paul is going to be very counter cultural with his instructions.
IV. Conclusion
